ISTANBUL

At least 14 people were killed, including three Lebanese soldiers, in Israeli airstrikes Tuesday targeting areas in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

An Israeli airstrike targeted the town of Ghazieh in Sidon district, killing three people and injuring five others, the Lebanese Health Ministry said in a statement.

In Nabatieh district, an Israeli airstrike targeted a residential complex in the town of Harouf, killing three people, according to the Lebanon’s National News Agency.

The agency added that an Israeli drone struck a car between the towns of Aba and Jebchit in the same district, killing one person and injuring another.

It also reported that an Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle at the eastern entrance of the town of Doueir, injuring one person.

Another drone strike targeted a motorcycle at the Al-Wadi junction in the town of Deir al-Zahrani, leaving one person injured, according to the agency.

In Tyre district, one person was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a car in the town of Al-Sultaniyyah, the agency said.

It added that another Israeli airstrike on the town of Al-Jmeijmeh killed two people.

On the road to Beirut International Airport, the Lebanese Health Ministry announced that one person was killed and nine others were injured in an Israeli airstrike.

The Lebanese army command said in a statement that Israeli strikes targeted army personnel, resulting in the killing of three soldiers and the injury of five others in the towns of Zebdine, Qaqaiyat al-Jisr and Doueir in Nabatieh district.

The statement strongly condemned Israeli attacks targeting both military personnel and civilians.

The escalation comes amid ongoing clashes between Israel and the Hezbollah group, which has been launching rockets and drones toward Israel in response to Israeli attacks that began on March 2, leaving 912 people dead, 2,221 injured and more than one million displaced as of Tuesday, according to Lebanese authorities.

On Tuesday evening, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem stressed the continuation of resistance against Israel and outlined four conditions for a solution: stopping the Israeli aggression, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all occupied Lebanese territories, the release of prisoners and allowing displaced people to return with the start of reconstruction.

On March 2, Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, attacked a military site in northern Israel in response to ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon despite a ceasefire reached in November 2024 as well as the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28 in a joint US-Israeli airstrike in Tehran.

Israel's military launched what it called "limited" ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Monday, while Hezbollah said it was confronting the advancing forces.

Israeli media estimates suggest that Israeli troops have penetrated between 7 and 9 kilometers into Lebanese territory.

The regional escalation has expanded following US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began on Feb. 28 which have left at least 1,332 people dead and more than 15,000 injured, according to official figures.

The Israeli military said its 36th Division joined the operation to expand the ground advance in southern Lebanon.

At least 886 people have been killed and 2,141 injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

*Writing By Khaled Badr